The Last In Line
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: The cruelest of crimes committed, the attacker and victim have both fled into the night... it takes a lot to be strong after violence. (Unrelated to The Dark Corners Of Light)
1. Good Side, Bad Side

She wasn't moving… and the little girl next to her wasn't sure what to do, the woman's cell phone was crushed and rendered unusable.

"Hey… come on, please…" The little one said quietly while trying to shake Amanda awake. But her eyes didn't open, and the girl looked up and her eyes widened as her attacker groaned and rolled over.

"You…" The attacker growled.

"Look at her… look at what you did…" The girl snarled.

"I think… the word is I killed her." The attacker said, not in the least bit showing any regret of his actions.

"I think… you're a monster!" The girl said angrily, trying to run and kick the guy but he was quick to grip onto a fistful of her frizzy black hair and swing her around by it, causing her to scream out until she grunted as she hit the wall and then dropped to the ground.

"We ain't… done!" The attacker growled, but while they were both equally injured, the girl's small youthful figure outmatched his in terms of how quick she was able to get up and dart away, down the alleyway and into the darkened city.

Every part of her throbbed when Amanda opened her eyes… but she rolled herself onto her front and pulled herself up with the help of the wall and limped to the sidewalk. She was about a few steps down it before a car screeched to a stop and the driver ran at her, evoking a terrified scream.

"Stop!" Amanda yelled, her eyes clenched tightly… but the hands holding her up weren't those of the attacker or a stranger and she opened her hazel eyes to see a pair of familiar blue ones.

"Mandy, who did this to you?!" Finn asked as he held her close to him.

"I didn't know who he was… I saw him attacking a child and I just…" Amanda tried to say, feeling like she couldn't stand on her own… she looked around as Finn had guided her to the passenger side of the Altima, looking for the little girl.

"Don't worry, I'll tell the others to keep an eye out. What are they looking for?" Finn said as he helped Amanda down into the car.

"I think… mixed skin colour, curly dark hair… early teen at the very oldest…" Amanda replied, unable to get a clear image of the girl into her head.

Everything was scrambled and she was struggling to stay warm, Finn wrapping his leather jacket around her.

"She's way too thin… I don't know how long she's been living through hell…" Amanda said as Finn sped to the hospital… the blurred vision was becoming worse and he turned frantic, trying to keep her alert and awake as paramedics ran out to them.

"What happened, did you see who did this?!" One of them asked as Finn had placed Amanda onto the gurney… she was looking at him through half open eyes and he was thinking back to last year when she had nearly bled to death.

"I found her halfway crawling out from an alleyway, said she fought a guy who was hurting a child in there." Finn replied.

"Damn it…" One of the paramedics cursed, looking at Finn. "There was a little girl who was in here last month with a broken arm… said she tripped but the bruise on her arm was shaped like a handprint." He said once they were in the ER and into a trauma room.

"Is your friend allergic to any medicine, has she had any past medical problems?" One of the other paramedics asked Finn.

"She had seizures last year but she was cleared off the medicine last month… there was also a kidney injury but no further complications from it…" Finn answered, trying to stay focused but he was worried sick about Amanda, who was once again out cold.

Her eyes opened halfway again when she felt an oxygen mask being put onto her and reached out, her left hand wrapping around Finn's right one and him squeezing her hand between his own as tears formed in her eyes.

"You'll be better soon… and as soon as they take you and get fixing you up, I'm gonna call Bayley, Dean, Roman, everyone and get them searching." Finn said, lightly stroking his thumb over the back of the hand he held.

Amanda nodded, trying to move her left foot but a loud 'crack' echoed from her ankle and she screamed, Finn lightly stroking her hair.

Across the ER, Dean's and Roman's heads snapped up.

"You heard that too, right?" Dean asked after the second call to Amanda's phone resulted in an automated message.

"Oh, it better not be…" Roman said as the two got up and ran towards the source, only to see Finn stood alone in the hallway as a bed disappeared through the double doors at the other end, a bed which they gathered was Amanda's.

"What the fuck happened?!" Dean demanded, grabbing Finn by the collar of his shirt but Roman forced him to let go.

"She was trying to save a kid… and the attacker turned his rage to her instead." Finn answered, Dean punching the wall in rage until Roman pulled him away from it.

"Calm yourself-" Roman starts to say.

"That's our best friend in there!" Dean screamed.

"Okay… turn your rage into a desire to find the kid, because you know that Amanda will feel a whole lot better once she's found. 10 to 13 age, mixed skin tone, frizzy curly hair." Finn said.

Dean and Roman found the nearest police officer, relaying the info despite Dean's mistrust of officers and Finn dialed the one number he never thought he'd have to under these circumstances.

"Hey, what's wrong?" John asked.

"Things got messed up really quick… Mandy saw a guy attacking a child, defended the girl and basically swapped the places in getting a beating." Finn explained.

"How bad? Is my-" John tries to ask.

"She's alive but they just took her to the OR… John, you're gonna need to call your family." Finn answered.

"You stay by her side… we all need to." John said before they hang up, Finn sitting down and trying to keep his own rage controlled.

' _She needs you… don't ever leave her side again, what were you thinking, damn it?!'_ Finn thought, about to lash out when he felt a hand on his shoulder but saw Liara.

"Oh no… is she…" Liara tries to ask.

"No… but she's hurt bad… I'm scared of losing her, Liara, he nearly killed her." Finn managed to say, Liara taking him into her arms.

"There will be… no death on this one. Everyone lives… We'll all make sure of it." Liara said as they held onto each other.


	2. Holding On

_**9/8/15…**_

 _Amanda stopped walking along the beach in Providence when she saw a strange violet light from the lighthouse… she couldn't look away from it, even as she felt Finn's hands rest on her shoulders before his arms wrapped around her waist._

 _When she did snap out of her trance, the light was gone and replaced by the normal spotlight… and Finn noticed that when she looked back at him, she looked a little pale from the startled feeling._

" _Someone was just messing around in the lighthouse, right? The lights they use to guide boats are the normal ones." Amanda said quietly as she turned to him._

" _Massive halogen bulb inside of a spinning mirror, much like old police siren lights…" Finn replied, his right hand gripping onto her left one as his left arm remained wrapped around her lower back. "What's wrong, lass?"_

" _I just saw a strange violet light from there…" Amanda answered, Finn looking back at the lighthouse… but he didn't see anything out of the ordinary._

 _Back at the bonfire, Baron glanced at them before looking at Enzo._

" _Did you spike their drinks?" Baron asked._

" _No, of course not. Why you ask, something seem off to you about them?" Enzo answered._

" _It's just… she was looking quite strangely at the lighthouse." Baron said, pointing towards the lighthouse on the other end of the shore._

" _She was… maybe something startled her…" Enzo said now that he thought more about it. 'Mandy doesn't startle for no reason…' He thought after taking another shot of tequila as Finn and Amanda walked back to the bonfire and sat down._

 _She looked back at the lighthouse, her right hand still in Finn's left one which had the others giving each other curious looks._

" _You two… are oddly close tonight, did something happen earlier?" Enzo asked._

" _No more than anything out of the normal…" Finn answered, him and Amanda looking at each other as Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd played on the nearby radio and Amanda's tousled curls blew back for a few seconds in the slight breeze better her hair settled back and Finn reached over, running the fingers on his right hand through it to gently untangle the slight knots..._

 **Present time...**

Time dragged on as Finn stayed by Amanda while John was talking to the rest of the Cena family, Amanda now in the ICU with her left ankle in a sangria purple cast and her head stitched up… there was no concussion but along with the broken tibia and fibula, several ribs were cracked.

When Amanda regained awareness of her surroundings, the Morphine blocked out the pain but it also left her throat dry when she tried to talk after she hugged John and Finn… slowly sipping some water handed to her, she finally asked where the girl was.

"Dean and Roman are onto it, they ain't waiting for the cops to sort their paperwork out before beginning a search. Last I heard from them, they'd searched the area from the attack spot towards the river." Finn answered, quiet so as to not hurt Amanda's still sensitive ears.

"They'll find her, Mandy." John whispered, kissing Amanda on her forehead.

"I hate that damn 48 hour waiting to start, what the hell is with police? Didn't past cases involving children help them learn anything?" Amanda asked.

"I guess not, it's a stubborn world sometimes." Finn said.

Amanda tried to move her broken ankle but she hadn't realised it was in a traction device nor was she aware of the six pins holding it together until she looked down. She went quiet and both knew that she was processing just how bad she was hurt this time, John deciding to let them be and call his and Amanda's mother again.

"It'll take time, but you'll heal…" Finn said before closing his fingers around her right hand. "I'll be there with you through it, every step."

"He slammed me into the brick wall… that was how I'd lost the hold I had on him but…" Amanda whispered, remembering that her nails dug into the attacker's neck.

In the downtown area, Dean kicked a trash can into the street out of frustration and it bounced off a speeding car that stopped suddenly.

"Dean, what happened?!" Renee asked as she ran to her boyfriend.

"It's bad this time, Renee…" Dean answered, Renee realising it.

"Mandy?!" Renee asked frantically, tears forming in her eyes. "Dean, tell me what happened, please." She says as they held each other.

"There was a guy hurting a kid… Mandy ran over to protect… the guy brought her down by slamming her into the brick wall." Dean explained.

"Where's the kid?! Where's Mandy, is she…" Renee tried to ask, dissolving into sobbing.

"Mandy's pretty beaten but she's in the hospital and alive. The kid… That's why I'm out here." Dean said.

Heading down the street, the two saw a small figure in the alleyway and Renee walked over and crouched down.

"He killed her…" The girl cried, Renee resting her hands on the girl's shoulders.

"She's alive." Renee whispered, the girl looking at her and wrapping her arms around Renee, who held her close to her. "It's okay, sweetheart…" She whispered as she picked the tiny girl up, who looked at Dean.

"What's your name, kiddo?" Dean asked quietly.

"S… Sylvia… I don't know what else." The girl whispered, crying out as she tried to move herself and bend her back.

Renee and Dean took her to the ER, Sylvia being patched up before she saw an angered Seth.

"Stay with her." Dean whispered, closing the door behind him. "Did you kill the son of a bitch?!"

"When I left, he was breathing… he's not gonna be walking for a while, I'm sure that I broke nearly every bone in his body." Seth said quietly, seeing Sylvia. "Fuck… she looks worse than you told me."

"I don't even want to imagine the horror she's been through…" Dean said.

The two weren't aware that they were being watched and Liviana seemed just as cautious as Sylvia… but something was telling her to go find the attacker.

And so she did… no one paid much attention to houses just outside the city areas.

Through bruised eyes, he looked up and saw her.

"Who… who the fuck are you?!" He demanded, pulling himself up to his feet… it wasn't easy, his body was in agonizing pain from the beatings he endured within 8 hours.

"Someone who thinks scum like you should've been killed a long time ago!" Liviana answered after a hard punch to the man's face, knocking him down into the chair and starting to strangle him.

As his face started to turn a deadly shade of blue, she let go and then grabbed the nearby wooden chair, breaking it over his back and making him scream in agony… she was only out to prove a point, not murder anyone.

"I don't know where the hell you get off on beating up children and women… but you really should rethink how you go through life." Liviana growled after yanking him up by his hair so his left ear was near her mouth. "You think what you've endured since last night is bad? It's gonna get a whole hell of a lot worse." She growled before throwing him to the ground.

Outside, Janessa had been hiding and stood up when Liviana found her… putting it together, Liviana took her away from there.

"Where's Sylvia?" Janessa asked once they were in a car and driving away.

"Somewhere safe… trust me on that, you'll see her soon." Liviana answered.

Janessa nodded and leaned against the seat after removing the corset from under her shirt and hurling it out the passenger window, feeling like she could breathe again.


	3. Healing Isn't Easy

A few hours had passed before Finn was startled awake by the sharp spike in Amanda's vitals and immediately ran the fingers on his right hand through her hair when he saw the terrified look in her eyes, his left hand holding her right hand in it.

Amanda's heart rate and blood pressure started to lower to more stable levels when she realised that she wasn't back in that alleyway, she was safe inside the hospital with Finn and the others protecting her… but she didn't feel safe, her eyes scanning the room for the attacker until Finn got her to look at him.

"Is he dead?" Amanda whispered.

"Not that I know of… I know you want to go home but you can't yet." Finn said quietly as tears ran down Amanda's face.

"One thing I hate most in this world… is being scared. If they don't find him, he's just gonna keep brutalizing people." Amanda said as she felt his arms wrap around her, hanging onto him… and both were unaware of Liviana out in the hallway.

"If he does get there… then you know as well as I do, it'll be the last time he ever will." Finn said, quietly as his mouth was close to her ear.

"I'll make sure of it." Liviana said, suddenly in the room and making the two jump a little.

"How did you…" Amanda started to ask after she and Finn let go, her right hand in his left one.

"I zapped… this isn't normal, is it?" Liviana said, the second part as she looked down to her single piece clothing with red and pale blue lightning patterns down the right side.

"Normal can be boring at times…" Amanda responded, Liviana smiling for a few seconds.

"Yeah… true, that. Though I think I'll blend in just a touch more…" Liviana said before raising up her right wrist and tapping on a touchpad strapped to it… which caused Amanda and Finn to shift back a bit in surprise as the lightning patterns glowed and the suit divided across her waist and up her torso, turning into jog pants and a zipped up hoodie but retaining the same black colour.

"Starting to get cooler outside nowadays…" Amanda said quietly, remembering that Autumn had officially started in September but that the temperature didn't truly start to drop until early to mid October.

"Florida weather can be weird…" Liviana said before she noticed the others outside.

"What the hell, what happened?!" Liara asked when she saw blood on Ty's hands.

"He stumbled down the sidewalk, begging for my help… then I found this, pushed him out in front of a car." Ty answered, showing Liara part of the torn off sleeve of Amanda's Balor Club hoodie. "They're taking him to a different hospital."

"Did you break his legs?" Liara asked.

"The left one… how's Mandy holding up?" Ty questioned.

"She's terrified… traumatized is a better word." Liara answered as Ty cleaned the blood off of his hands with a few Purell wipes.

Heading down the hall, Liviana found Janessa in Sylvia's room.

"She keeps asking about a woman who saved her… small, dark haired, hazel eyes. Have you seen anyone matching that description?" Janessa whispered once she was sure Sylvia was asleep.

"Sounds like Amanda, the wrestler in the hospital." Liviana replied.

"You're kidding… was she the one who left him with a limp?" Janessa asked.

"I'm pretty sure that was her friend Seth." Liviana answered.

"That explains why he was so quiet…" Janessa said.

"What is this fucker's name anyway? And why is he hell bent on keeping you and Sylvia as punching bags?" Liviana asked.

"Well you may think he's her dad… but he's not, real or adoptive. She was running from her adoptive father when this guy promised her shelter. Same as me really… Though I wasn't running, I was thrown out." Janessa explained.

"Thrown out, why were you thrown out? You're just a kid yourself." Liviana said.

"I'll explain that later." Janessa answered.

Back in her own hospital room, Amanda was attempting to stay alert and distracted herself with cartoons… any other time, she would've been laughing at Tom, Jerry and Spike hitting each other with a frying pan and led pipe but Finn could see that she was staving off sleep.

And already, he was missing hearing her laugh… being as careful as he could, he trailed his fingers up her right hip.

Amanda bit down on her lower lip at the subtle tickling, suppressing a slight giggle.

"Cut that out, Finn…" Amanda said as she playfully swatted his left arm and he let a small smile slip through.

Finn stopped, lowering his hand and Amanda turned back to the Tv… but then she felt his fingers running through her tousled hair, giving a slight tug like a schoolboy on the playground who liked a girl.

Amanda laughed for a few seconds and turned to him, her hand resting on his wrist.

"You're not gonna give up anytime soon until there's a smile back on my face…" Amanda said quietly.

"Nope… laughter and happiness is the best medicine." Finn replied.

"It is…" Amanda said, letting out a slight squeak when she felt him lightly tug on her hair again and the two laughed… but that small noise sent John running into the room, fists clenched. "John, calm down!" She said, John unclenching his hands.

"Kind of panicked a bit…" John responded after a few seconds, the two hugging before he sat down in the nearby recliner chair… glancing outside the window, she saw most of the NXT and main rosters out in the hallway with a few exceptions.

But then again, she wasn't really all that surprised.

 _ **Last night, five hours before attack…**_

 _Swinging back and forth on one of the metal bars wasn't all that unusual for Amanda… giving her small frame a vaulting start, she jumped off the bar and to the production crate before continuing with her Parkour style running through the halls of Full Sail University._

 _Unfortunately, she turned a corner too fast and crashed into Finn, the two falling to the floor with her on top of him and Finn letting out an "Ow."_

" _Damn… sorry, Finn. You okay?" Amanda questioned as she felt his hands resting on her sides and her resting her hands on both sides of his face._

" _Yeah… just don't feel like getting up right now." Finn answered, quiet laughs escaping their mouths… and both completely unaware of Alexa watching them with an evil smirk until her 5'1" shadow was visible and both helped each other up. "Wipe that look off your face. I was preventing her from suffering another head injury." He explained, Alexa rolling her eyes at that._

" _She's not gonna believe any explanation, it's not worth our time giving her one with her lying mouth. Rumor does spread faster than truth, doesn't it? Go on. Tell everyone what you think you saw, Alexa… unless you're scared they finally stopped believing you." Amanda said, Alexa turning mad at Amanda sassing her and daring her to mouth off._

" _The hell is going on over here?" All three heard, looking and seeing Hunter._

" _Nothing… nothing at all." Alexa answered before leaving… but Hunter looked at Amanda._

" _What happened, kiddo?" Hunter asked._

" _During my pre-match warm up, I crashed into Finn and we both fell… I crashed on top of him, Lexa only saw the last part and was about to mouth off. So I dared her to." Amanda explained._

" _Clever… she won't do something if you're telling her to do it." Hunter said, glancing down the hall as Alexa turned the corner and was out of sight._

" _Yep. Picked up a lot of things from watching you when I was a kid." Amanda said as she leaned against the wall, having twisted her left thumb a bit._

" _I'll go get some ice." Hunter responded before kissing her on her forehead and leaving._

" _Remember when you asked me if there's more pressure on the main roster and everyone there can be worse?" Amanda asked as Finn carefully examined her thumb once her hand was between his._

" _How bad can it be, love?" Finn asked._

" _Countless times, I saw Mike get kicked out of locker rooms… hell, even referees were treated with a severe lack of respect at times. Poor Earl Hebner got a broken nose once from Kurt Angle." Amanda answered, hissing slightly as Finn checked to make sure that the thumb was still in its socket._

" _Think you just pulled the muscle…" Finn said, finding little obstruction in the movement._

" _There was one time I broke this thumb… never go pissing Mickie James off, that woman is a terror at times." Amanda responded as Hunter returned to them and put the ice on Amanda's thumb._

" _So are you at times, when someone does you wrong." Hunter said._

" _Oh one time I bit Shawn Michaels and you are never gonna let me live it down." Amanda replied, the three laughing…_


	4. Looking For A Comfort Zone

**Present time, a few days later…**

"Damn, it feels good to be out of there." Amanda said after Finn helped her sit down on the king sized bed and she pulled her still damp hair into a ponytail as he propped her ankle up on some pillows. "Anything on those kids, is Sylvia still in the hospital?" She asked.

"She is… but she's not dangerously underweight anymore, and Janessa won't leave her side." Finn answered, sitting down on the edge of the bed once Amanda was comfortable.

"It can be hard to leave someone's side, even for just a few minutes… you look like you didn't sleep much, you okay?" Amanda said, asking the last part.

"Yeah… as you said, hard to leave. I didn't want to risk being asleep if something went downhill." Finn replied.

"Well, we're out of there… we're home, safe…" Amanda said as they hugged before hearing someone trying to open the front door before shouting. "You didn't give Enzo a key when you changed the locks, did you?"

"Didn't give anyone a key." Finn said as he got up and went to the door.

"Unlock the door already!" Enzo shouted, Finn unlocking and opening the door and letting Enzo in. "Damn, you get protective of her! How is she, catching up on sleep?" He said, setting the things down and closing the door, Finn seeing that in the gift basket, a good portion of the things were from Carmella, Bayley, Sasha, Becky and Charlotte.

"Not yet. Is that… Val punched you again, didn't she?" Finn asked, seeing that Enzo had a black eye.

"She did…" Enzo confirmed.

Upstairs, Amanda was quietly singing one of the songs from _Aladdin_ when her tablet chimed and she picked it up. Answering the video call, she saw Shawn.

"This is the fifth time you've called me today and it's not even 11am. Is Hunter calling you too?" Amanda said, Shawn seeing that she was in an oversized Balor Club shirt as she didn't want to cut any of her jeans or leggings up to fit them over the cast.

"Everyone's getting called, either by Hunter, or… Mandy, be careful. I think now that the whole event has been seen by the public eye and all, Alexa's leaking our personal phone numbers to the damn press." Shawn said.

"She saw that son of a bitch nearly kill me and Sylvia?!" Amanda asked angrily, which sent Finn and Enzo running upstairs.

"I mean that the word got out and the news is all in their reports and all, as usual, but going along with it Alexa might be leaking some of our phone numbers to the press. Roman's already gotten four journalist calls in the last hour." Shawn explained.

Amanda started muttering in Irish, Shawn knowing that she was mad now and backing up slightly from his tablet screen.

"Whoa now, calm down!" Shawn said.

"I'll try, just… keep Cameron, Cheyenne and Rebecca away from the press. I know Roman and Galina are already keeping Joelle out of this and same with Hunter, Steph and their little girls." Amanda said once she had calmed down. The video call ended and Amanda set the tablet down. "That Harley Quinn wannabe is a dead little bitch." She says, trying to stand up but Finn and Enzo stopped her when they saw her expression change to a painful one.

"Let Stephanie handle that, love." Finn said, sitting down across from Amanda.

"Nothing's scarier than Stephanie McMahon when she goes all mama bear on someone." Amanda responded.

"Any mama bear can be scary in general… makes me wonder who'll be doing that for Sylvia and Janessa." Finn said.

"That's another thing I've been trying to figure out, if their mothers are still alive…" Amanda says.

In the Performance Centre, Alexa felt a hand tap her shoulder and turned… before letting out a yelp as Nikki had her hands on Alexa's throat.

"You can't resist hurting my future sister in law and her friend but what the fuck gives you the right to hurt all of us?! All our numbers out there, do you realise the catastrophic damage you caused, you little brat?!" Nikki growled, shoving Alexa back. "All of us in this company, supposed to be a damn family! But ever since Finn walked into Mandy's life, you haven't shown any limits!" She yelled after slapping the smaller woman.

"Neither has that Demon Slut shown any limits or consideration for others either! The moment it involves Finn, she's all in his arms hiding away from everyone!" Alexa responded angrily.

"You and Seth were drinking buddies for this but even he's shown restraint after she and that little girl nearly died!" Nikki said, taking a minute to compose herself. "I overheard Hunter… and you want to know what he said? You're being pulled off all events until further notice." She said, Alexa turning furious.

"You… you lying bitch, you're just trying to grab my nerve!" Alexa shouted in disbelief.

"You should've thought about that before you went all psycho bitch on everyone, Alexa!" Nikki says as Hunter walked over to them.

"Go calm down." Hunter said, Nikki leaving. "You're on very thin ice, little girl… use this time to rethink your life before you find yourself out of a job!" He said threateningly to Alexa before she left.

Alexa hit the door of her Camaro in frustration and took a deep breath before thinking about it.

' _Is there any way to fix this?'_ Alexa thought… before she dialed Amanda's number… and got an automated message about it being blocked. "I don't blame her one bit." She muttered before driving off.

Back at the apartment after Enzo had brought the gift basket upstairs and went downstairs to call his own family, Finn had his hands on Amanda's shoulders as she tried to hide her tears.

"She'd just sell us down the river like that… there is no salvaging any sense out of her." Finn said, Amanda leaning back and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Much like Maryse did a few years ago… whenever there's a bully, it's just their name and face that change. I feel worse for the kids, they're too young to understand why strange people are calling their parents, their families." Amanda said as she brushed her tears away. "I ever tell you which one is the first one I held just after she was born? Cheyenne was so tiny and I was scared of dropping her… but she looked at me with those eyes full of trust and I didn't feel scared anymore. She's so much like Shawn, she asked me once if there's any way of being truly prepared for things like this… I didn't know how to answer that one. And I still don't have an answer." She said in a croaky voice, her reddened hazel eyes looking into the blue ones that she had been familiar with for over a year.

"You were her age once…" Finn said.

"At 11, I was observing every one of my childhood idols. At 14, I was learning from them… 15, I was practicing everyone's in ring style so much that it became second nature. I miss those days sometimes… before things fell apart." Amanda replied, feeling Finn's arms lower a bit to where they were secured around her back and her eyes began to feel heavy from exhaustion.

It wasn't long before they closed and Finn kissed Amanda on the top of her head.


	5. The Day The Innocence Died

_**11/13/05…**_

 _Amanda knew something wasn't right when she walked down the hallway and saw the crowd… the small brunette ran towards it but Chris Benoit immediately held her back from the coroners taking Eddie's body away in a bag._

" _No…" Amanda managed to say._

" _Mandy-" Chris said._

" _I just talked to him last night… he was okay." Amanda said in denial. "Was it his heart?" She asked tearfully, Chris trying to keep her calm."Tell me why our best friend is gone, damn it!" She screamed as tears fell like waterfalls, the older man taking her into his arms and her sobbing into him._

 _On the other side of the hallway, John saw them and rushed over to them._

" _What do we do? She's not gonna be the same after this." John said quietly._

" _He had too much living left…" Amanda whispered, John resting his hand on her back and her looking at him. "John, what are we gonna do without Eddie? He was always there for everyone he loved and everyone who loved him." She said in a voice way too old to belong to a 15 year old._

 _The little girl they knew was slowly disappearing._

 _It was when a few of them were in a room later discussing what to do for tonight about the double taping that Chris walked over to Amanda, who had been quietly looking out the hotel window and sat down, resting his hand on her back._

" _We shouldn't be doing any of this… he should still be here." Amanda whispered as Chris's arms wrapped around her._

" _I know, kiddo… none of this is fair to anyone." Chris said as Amanda rested her head on his shoulder and he kissed her on her forehead._

 _Healing was in no way gonna be easy for either of them…_

 **Present time…**

It was almost five in the evening when Amanda woke up… looking up, she saw that Finn had fallen asleep.

' _Sooner or later, you were gonna doze off…'_ Amanda thought as she rested her head over Finn's torso and heard his heart beating but it didn't calm her shaking body… and then she felt his fingers running through her disheveled ponytail, indicating that he was awake.

"When was the last time we woke up and it was quiet? No one walking in to check on us?" Amanda asked.

"Last time we weren't out on a tour was when…" Finn answered softly.

"Until Enzo broke the old door down with his own head." Amanda said before they chuckled. Out of habit, she moved herself to try to put the weight on her knees but Finn gently pulled her back down to his side… and both heard several pebbles hit the window before hearing Wayne yelling.

"Maybe I really should start giving keys to our friends…" Finn said.

"Unlock the damn door, Balor!" Wayne repeated.

Finn helped Amanda sit up and heard a small growl from her stomach, knowing she was getting hungry.

"Let Wayne in, then we'll figure out what to eat for dinner." Amanda said before they hugged. Finn walked downstairs and opened the door but it wasn't just Wayne… Liviana was with him.

"Val and Liara didn't go and kill Alexa, did they?" Finn asked after letting them in as well as Val and Liara, who closed the door.

"No, we didn't… we didn't need to. She was drinking herself silly as it is, Hunter halfway fired her from the whole company, no events until further notice." Liara said after walking from the door into the room inside.

"She nearly ran into traffic when we found her…" Wayne said, Finn hearing the crutches being lifted off the floor upstairs and running into the bedroom.

"Hey, I just wanted to know what the hell was going on!" Amanda said as she was helped back to the bed, Finn knowing that she was going stir crazy up here. "I miss being able to put my feet on the ground…" She whispers as his hands cupped her face before he picked her up into his arms and took her downstairs.

"Hey, there she is!" Val said before she and Amanda hugged. "You'll be glad to know… Alexa is halfway gone, she's excluded from all upcoming events."

"Hopefully, she uses this time off to think." Amanda said after they let go and she was placed onto the couch with her ankle propped up and a blanket covering her.

It was after dinner that Amanda looked at the house phone and saw the hospital number, answering it.

"Sylvia?" Amanda guessed, the little girl sighing in relief at hearing her voice. "How you feeling, kiddo? How's Janessa?" She asked.

"We're okay." Sylvia answered.

"I'm sorry about all of this, kiddo, what that woman has done." Amanda said.

"She's horrible… I don't like her one bit." Sylvia said, quieter towards the end as her arms folded around her front.

"Me either… I'm not sure if she'll think about what she's done." Amanda replied, trying to stay calm for Sylvia but the phone was trembling in her hand until Finn wrapped his hand around her wrist. "We'll come see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Be safe." Sylvia said before they hang up, Amanda setting the phone down.

It was later into the night when watching _Miami Vice_ that Finn immediately covered Amanda's eyes before she could close them as the loud bang echoed from the Tv… the season 4 opener always startled her but he could see that this wasn't for the same reason this time as her breathing was quiet but rapid and he immediately rubbed his left hand up and down her back to prevent a panic attack.

"They went too dark in that one, Finn…" Amanda whispered as Finn wrapped his right hand around her left one once she had calmed down enough, her head on his left shoulder.

"Everything has it's dark moments… but there's always light on the other side." Finn said, his free hand running its fingers through her hair a few times, once he noticed a knot formed where her head had been rested on his shoulder before.

Outside, someone had been watching before a gun was aimed right in his face and he backed up, seeing Liara.

"We gonna have a problem here?" Liara growled, recognising the attacker from the description and him backing down from the armed woman. "Your next time of putting your hands on someone will be your last, you got that?!" She threatened, kicking his broken leg and knocking him down.

"Got it…" He said shakily before pulling himself up and leaving, Liara heading into the house she shared with the gang.

"Was that him?" Ty asked.

"That was the bastard…" Liara said, placing her gun down on the small table by the door as her arms shook a bit, a usual reaction for her towards feeling such anger.

"He'll get what's coming to him, Li." Ty said as they hug.


End file.
